We all have our weaknesses, and one of mine is the irresistible allure of baby animals.
There is nothing cuter than a wriggling, bright-eyed ball of fur approaching you with innocent curiosity, and nothing more heartwarming than watching the fierce devotion a mother has for her young. I’m that person who can’t resist stopping to pet your adorable new puppy, and some of my favorite travel memories include being mock-charged by baby fur seals on South Georgia Island and watching a freshly hatched baby sea turtle make its way to the ocean in the Galapagos Islands (who knew that baby reptiles can be so cute?).
My love for baby animals meant that our recent scouting trip to Kenya and Uganda this past February turned into one of my favorite safaris of all time. From the tiniest baby hyenas I've ever seen to hand-feeding a baby giraffe and watching a mother gorilla cradle her infant just 15 feet away, February in East Africa was a baby animal bonanza.
This photo essay highlights some of the fuzzy little nuggets we encountered during our travels. It's mostly an excuse to share an excessive number of ridiculously cute wildlife photos (and I make no apologies for that). Enjoy!
Feeding Time at The Sheldrick Trust in Nairobi
Even though we have been before, we started our journey with a visit to the Sheldrick Trust in Nairobi. We always make time for Sheldrick whenever we're in Nairobi because we love supporting the incredible work they do rescuing and rehabilitating orphaned elephants. In addition to the playful elephants you will always see at Sheldrick, we also got to see Tytan (a zebra) and Notty (a black rhino), two recent rescues who have become besties. The stories of how these animals lost their mothers are truly heartbreaking, but it was impossible not to leave feeling hopeful after watching these little ones thriving at Sheldrick, making new friends and growing stronger every day.
Laikipia, The (Baby) Rhino Capital of East Africa
Our first safari destination after Nairobi was Laikipia, a stunningly beautiful expanse of rolling hills and idyllic acacia-strewn landscapes adjacent to Mount Kenya. We hadn’t been back to Laikipia since 2017, and we took the time to explore several private conservancies throughout the region. In addition to getting to spot unique wildlife (striped hyena, Beisa oryx, Somali ostrich, and more!), we were blown away by the proliferation of rhinos. The one-month-old baby black rhino we saw at Lewa Conservancy is the tiniest, most precious little rhino we have ever seen, along with several older calves (Lewa currently has nearly 300 rhino - that’s 13% of Kenya’s rhino population!). The last time we had been to Laikipia was just after a spate of rhino poaching incidents, and it was inspiring to see the conservation successes that Lewa and other conservancies have had.
Mara North’s Abundant Big (And Little) Cats
The Maasai Mara region is perhaps the best place in all of Africa to see the big cats, and our stay at the private Mara North Conservancy did not disappoint. This conservancy, which is owned by local Maasai people who manage their lands to permit both safari tourism and traditional grazing, is packed with wildlife, yet without the crowds of the Maasai Mara Reserve. On our very first game drive, we found a baby cheetah, a baby leopard, and the tiniest lion cub imaginable, all in a single evening. In addition to baby cats, we also saw newborn baby gazelles and buffalo, plus an abundance of additional wildlife (baboons, jackals, elephants, hippos, mongoose, topis, gazelles, warthogs, giraffe, and more).
Loirien Rhino Reserve
From Mara North, we headed over to the Mara Triangle to visit several camps. A highlight of our time in this region was a visit to Loirien Mara, a stunning private villa situated atop the Oloololo Escarpment, overlooking the vast expanses of the Mara below. The best part about staying at Loirien is that you have exclusive access to their private rhino sanctuary, where you can walk with a ranger and enjoy up-close encounters with their resident white rhinos. My favorite experience from our visit was getting to meet Julian, a two-month old baby giraffe who was orphaned at just two weeks old when his mother was killed by an electric fence. Bottle-feeding Julian his afternoon ration of warm milk was exhilarating. At just two months old, Julian was already taller than me, and it was shocking how strong he was as he tugged at his milk bottle, trying to guzzle it all down at once in an adorable (but slightly scary!) frenzy.
Naboisho Conservancy: The Lion Cub Club
We ended our stay in the greater Mara region with several days in Naboisho Conservancy, and we were so impressed with Naboisho that at some point I’ll write an entirely separate blog about it. Naboisho currently has the highest concentration of lions that we have seen anywhere in Africa after over two decades of going on safari. We lost count of the lion prides and cubs we encountered, although the largest pride included four adult males, six breeding females, and an astonishing 18 cubs, all lounging about together. The abundance of predators is fueled by equally abundant prey, from zebras and wildebeest to gazelles and more eland than I've seen anywhere else in Africa. Naboisho’s density of lions also supports an impressive hyena population. During our stay, we watched a massive hyena clan devour a zebra kill they had just chased the lions off of, complete with maniacal laughing, eerie whoops, and an assortment of grunts and growls. This sundowner show was a spectacular reminder that hyenas are every bit as formidable as their feline rivals.
The Baby Gorillas of Bwindi: Born to Be Wild
As if our classic African safari baby boom wasn’t enough, we ended our trip with two days of gorilla trekking in Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. The first day, we did a standard gorilla trek, spending an hour with a wild gorilla family feasting and foraging in the forest, followed by a gorilla habituation trek the next day, where you get to visit a family that isn’t fully habituated yet and spend up to four hours with them. Both treks were exceptional, from the giant silverback and multiple babies on our first day, to the in-depth adventure we had during our habituation trek (including one very endearing little fuzzball who completely stole our hearts with her acrobatic antics).
If there's a lesson from our February journey through Kenya and Uganda, it's this: East Africa isn't just about the Big Five, it's also about new life. From wobbly rhino calves and playful lion cubs to curious baby gorillas and innocent newborn gazelles, February offered one unforgettable reminder after another that the next generation of Africa's wildlife is thriving. For anyone who melts at the sight of baby animals as much as I do, this may just be the perfect time of year for an East Africa safari.
When you are ready to experience East Africa's February baby boom on your own dream African safari, reach out! We can help you plan a fully custom adventure tailored to your every need.
Your baby-animal-crazy lady,
